


and the silence surrounds you

by NBvagabond



Category: A Crown of Candy - Fandom, Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, M/M, episode 6 spoilers, rivals to lovers to yearning rivals, theo's very bad no good realisations of his love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24287971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NBvagabond/pseuds/NBvagabond
Summary: Theo thinks on his relationship with the late Lapin Cadbury. Feelings are often easier understood after the fact.
Relationships: Lapin Cadbury/Theobald Gumbar
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	and the silence surrounds you

**Author's Note:**

> i literally haven't edited this at all i just wrote it and ran a spellcheck and said done so sorry for any errors  
> title is from bloodstream by stateless
> 
> warning for mentions of lapin's death in somewhat gorey details

On Annabelle's ship, as they sail away from the capital and the crew plays music, Theo dances in the dark. He remembers dancing, long ago, fresh out of war and celebrating.  
Lapin, back then, had been nothing more than the newest addition to the Candian court - a chaplain, tasked with keeping Candia's new king in line with the church. He is still a Candian, though, and it's no one's surprise when he treats the late archmage with the same respect as the late saint Citrina.  
It is a celebration of love, tonight - a wedding between King Amethar and his new Queen (Something tickles at the back of Theo's mind about that, but he's not a strategist tonight, so he wipes away the itching worry with mead). Everyone is dancing, and the mead is sweet and rich, and suddenly Theo is in front of the new chaplain with a hand outstretched.  
The rabbit raises an eyebrow, and Theo grins. (how long has it been since he danced? Before the war, certainly.) "the bulb doesn't have anything against a dance, surely?"  
He expects the chancellor to brush him off, be a stoic and proper primogen (and Theo won't mind at all, he'll just find a drunker young man to dance with) but something that might almost count as a smile slips onto the rabbit's lips, and he puts a hand in Theo's.  
The music is loud and fast and happy, and Theo steps on the chancellors toes far more times than is proper, but the night is good.  
The night is very good. 

On the deck of a cheesewood ship, swaying in the dark, alone, Theo can still smell the rich chocolate (and the sweet spice that he now recognises as the sugar-plum fairy's magic). He thinks, if he tries, he can even remember Lapin's face without thinking of it cracked and bloodied on the floor of the church.

In the castle candy, their relationship is an odd one. Of course, it's no courtship - Lapin is a primogen of the bulbian Church, that's out of the question. Besides, they bicker more than they get along already, and the years will only strengthen that rivalry. Theirs is not a relationship of love, it is one of lust and pleasure. That's all. That's all.  
By the time the twin princesses are old enough that their inquisitiveness may cause problems, the dance at the wedding is a distant memory, and Theo and Lapin are nothing more than a rabbit bastard and a large goon.

Their time in Comida is short, but a whirlwind. Theo notices the way Lapin throws caution to the wind, risking his magic's discovery to save their king. He sees the way the chancellor goes against the church to keep Candia safe. The way he looks when he arrests Liam.  
Theo remembers the way he looked in the candlelight of a wedding reception, and how he looked, asleep, in Theo's sheets. He wants to dance with him again, but time cannot go backwards, and things are running in reverse. They are not dancing into peace, but stumbling their way into war. There is no time to be a romantic when lives are in danger.

When he feels that chocolate hand on his wrist, the one point of bare flesh between armour, Theo can't remember how long it's been. A terrible, gnawing part of him realises there will not be another time, as he flies with sugar plum magic away from the chancellor.

He is the first one to move, outside of the church. They are at war - war is what he does. They need to get to safety, they have no time to mourn. The image will not leave his mind.

His eyes are closed, hands shaking in the air where a waist and a hand should be, and he dances to faint, Dairy tunes. All Theo can hear is Lapin’s voice, rising above the din of the battle, just as bitter as ever but with that same hint of a smile he found the first time they met. Oh, shut up.  
All Theo can feel is the warm hand on his wrist, sugar-plum magic tingling between them. He remembers it so warm it hurts.  
All Theo can see on the backs of his eyelids is Lapin, skull crushed in by a broccoli mace, bleeding out on the floor of a church that never cared for him.

Theo dances, and isn't sure if he wishes he could forget, or remember for as long as he lives.

**Author's Note:**

> idk if annabelle will actually help them, i hope so judging by the trailer, but idk i just felt like it would be a good setting for theo to have a bit of a breakdown. i'm going to bed now cause the next ep drops tomorrow morning and i'm ready to cry! you can cry with me on tumblr or twitter @ nbvagabond


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